1.5 Years Later, the Hives Visit Again

Two years ago around exactly this time (early June), chronic hives started for me. I had them for about 6-7 months before they simply faded away. And I haven't had them for the past 1.5 years.

When I did have them, they were fairly mild on most days. They were mostly on my upper body, including my undergarment area. I never had the angio-edema versions, just the pesky pink wheals. I also often would get "pressure hives" clustered around my waist area and braline areas. And sweating or heat would make the hives much worse, so I spent a good bit of that summer inside in the AC and taking lukewarm showers.

I later came to believe that the hives were the result of one of two medications I had started one month prior: Either a birth control pill or an antidepressant to treat my anxiety, but I can't tell you which one and none of the long list of doctors I met with ever brought this up to me. I believe that my body simply finally got used to whichever medication it was and stopped reacting allergically to it. I remained on both medications even as the hives went away.  (I have since changed to a different birth control, and have been on that for over a year now.)

Last night, I got pressure urticaria along my lower belly after sitting on the couch with my laptop on my lap for over an hour. I also had some tight-fitting jeans on too. The urticaria were raised, pink and elongated where the 'pressure' of the laptop's edge was pressing against my body for that extended period of time.

I did get quite anxious -- are the hives returning? Will I have to endure a long period with them again, especially over the summer again? Does the timing mean anything?

Except this time, there is NOTHING different going on. I haven't recently changed medications. I have nothing different going on in my life. No new foods, detergents, etc.

I took an antihistamine before bed, and I will dose up on them for the next few days, even if no more hives appear. I have read and learned from my own experience, that keeping them at bay is best. This morning when I woke, as expected, the urticaria were gone and I saw no new hives on my body. I still took a lukewarm shower though! I will also not wear tight clothes or be in the heat for the next few days.

I hope I won't be posting more routinely to this blog once again.

Over 1 Year Hives Free - Will They Come Back?

While I am more than thrilled to report that I am 13.5 months hives-free, a reader of my blog posted a comment the other day that has me wondering:  How long will this remission last?  He noted how his come and go, sometimes a few years in between bouts.  It makes me wonder if that will be my future too.

For now, I just find that every few days, I still scan my body for those pesky hives in fearful anticipation that they will return. And sigh a relief that my skin is all clear.

Each time that I have to change to a different medication (I hate that the pharmacy is always switching from one generic to the next), I worry that it will trigger a hives reaction.

Or certain foods make me worry.  Or new perfunes or lotions.

I am less fearful and nervous as time passes.  The stress is reducing.

But the question remains: Will I be caught off-guard again one day? And if so, my theory that mine were due to a medication will fly right out the window... and we'll be right back to "idiopathic."

Thanks for reading...

1 Year Hives Free - but Now My DAD Has Hives!

I am more than thrilled to say it has officially been 1 year since my last hive from my chronic urticaria bout.  I have to change to a different oral contraceptive medication in 2 weeks, so we will see how THAT goes! LOL.

Interestingly, my father -- who has never had hives in his life (other than an isolated incident here or there) has been having hives on his chest, stomach, and back for the past six days.  Not considered a chronic case yet, his started at the end of a bad stomach flu/virus.  His hives emerge in the late evening and by morning are cleared up.  He has been taking Benadryl, which helps to reduce them.

Like me, he's been going through the list:

• No new shampoos, detergents, soaps, or other personal care products
• No new foods/drinks that he hasn't eaten before
• No exposure to plants or animals
• No medication changes or additions

Since his hives started after the stomach bug, I suggested to him that he contact his doctor for a bloodwork order to test for H. Pylori, a bacteria in most of our digestive tracts which has been reported to have a correlation with hives for some people. He wants to give it a few more days before he does that.

I will keep you all posted, and hope that he doesn't go through nearly 7 months of them like I did! (Or longer, like some of my blog readers have.)

Still no hives! (big smiley face)

I can't believe it has been 2 months since I last authored a blog post here. I remain, most thankfully, hives free.  I am increasingly convinced it was a medication issue.

Just a few weeks ago, I had to change to a different generic of the antidepressant that I am on.  Needless to say, I was VERY nervous. Wondering if some new inactive ingredients would trigger hives again.  I am pleased to report that it did not.

I did just have some of the chest flushing a few evenings last week, while I was on my "one week off" break from 3 months of continuous birth control pills. I have come to know and accept that as just a hormonal thing that is highly transient.

I hope that my blog gives some hope to those of you out there suffering currently. It may be even longer before I write again (hopefully), since there has been very little more to say.

Keep the faith!!

A summary of tests I've had for hives

So thought it might be helpful to share with all of you the various tests and experiments that I went through during my bout with chronic hives last year... maybe you have had the same or get additional ideas:

Bloodwork ordered by my Primary Care Doctor and/or Endocrinologist:

• Thyroid hormone panel - detailed (TSH, free T3, free T4/calculated, T4, T3 uptake, Total T3) -- mine were all normal.
• Thyroid antibodies test  (Thyroid Peroxidase & Thyroglobulin) -- I already knew I had these antibodies from a test years prior, they re-tested to confirm.
• Autoimmune panel  (tested for things like double-stranded DNA, C3 & C4 complement, Sjorgen's, RA Factor, ANA screen, SED rate, and more) -- all of these were normal except ANA was positive but in a very low titer.
• Celiac - negative.
• Metabolic Panel - normal.
• Vitamin D - mine was very low, but is now in normal range thanks to supplements.
• Vitamin B12 - low-normal.
• H Pylori (bacterial test) - normal.

Bloodwork ordered by Allergist:

• IGE Serum  (screen for allergies) - slightly above normal range.
• IGE Antibody - positive but in a very low titer.
• Tree & Grass Pollens - positive across the board, very high for grass.
• Tree Nuts - all bloodwork was negative, but skin scratch tests were positive for a few.

Dietary Changes Tried:

• Gluten free for 4 months (useless; did nothing other than frustrate my life)
• Paleo for 4 weeks  (no change other than created sleep disturbances and fatigue)
• Eliminated added sugars for 2 months  (no change)
• Eliminated tree nuts after getting positive allergy skin test results -- this will be a lifetime thing now, and I was told I need to carry an EpiPen.

Maybe this list will give you some ideas to explore with your doctor.  You can see how my results really didn't point to anything, which is why I now believe that mine MAY have been medication induced.  Good luck!!

9 months hives free...

I am thrilled to report that I am still indeed hives free.  My heat flushing/skin botching did crop up again when I was on a break between 3 months of continuous birth control pills (I am on 3 months continuous with no placebos, then 1 week break, then start again with next 3 months).  But it was only a day or two and not even the full day that the skin flushing happened. So that has definitely proven to be a hormonal thing.

Am I certain that my birth control pill last year is what was giving me hives? No.  I can't be sure. Honestly, I can't. It's just my current theory, based on eliminating many other potential causes and by applying 20/20 hindsight logic. But, I'm not about to switch back to that one again either to find out!

I still have a small worry every day that the hives will return.  I still glance 1-2 times a day at the "hot spots" where they clustered (wrists, neck, under arms, waistline). 

From many who have commented to various posts on my blog, there seem to be common themes among us:

• Reproductive hormone abnormalities (showing up in other symptoms such as endometriosis, infertility, etc.)
• Thyroid auto-immune conditions
• Seasonal allergies
• Taking a slew of medications -- includig those meant to try to suppress the hives 
• Stress/anxiety even before the hives started

My belief is that all 5 of those things should be looked at thoroughly as potential causes for chronic hives, but in particular, hormones and medications. 

My readers will appreciate this:  I recently had a follow-up with my dermatologist about my keratosis pilaris, and I told him about how the birth control pill change solved my skin flushing, and that I had a theory that the same pill caused my hives last year.

His response?

"Could be. Medications can do all kinds of crazy things.  So is that all for today then?"

Are you KIDDING ME??!! I wanted to shake him and say: "Then whey didn't you have us look at that when I was spinning with distress last year and seeing a different doctor or specialist every week seeking answers and doing tons of diet change experiments!"

We are our own advocate.  All the best to those of you reading who are in an active state of chronic hives, and all the best to those of us in remission that it stays that way!

Update - Remission Continues, My Theories on "Why?"

I am happy to say (and knocking on wood each time I say so) that I continue to be in hives remission. I have been asked recently by a few readers about "what I did" to end them.  I don't think I did anything to end them.  They just seemed to fade away. As I noticed them lessening, I stopped taking antihistamines. And just continued to observe fewer and fewer until they were just gone.

Looking back now, I have 3 current theories on why I had chronic hives:

1. They were due to a birth control pill?  I started a b.c pill two months before the hives set in. Now, one might think that I would have reacted right away from that, not two months later. But I look at it more as having a "toxicity buildup" effect, meaning if there was something in that drug that my body didn't like, and more of it was built up over time, that's when my body hit a certain threshold and reacted. I also had flushing/rashing/blotching while on it too. I was on that pill until March, but my hives were gone by early December, so how does that make sense?  Maybe my body just finally realized it did not need to have an allergic response, much as our allergy responses change all the time. But the flushing/rashing/blotching continued even after the hives had ended, and when I changed to a new bc pill in March, that went away too. I believe that part of it was hormonal.
2. They were due to an antidepressant?  I started a new antidepressant for anxiety around the same time that I started the bc pill. As one usually does, I started with a lower dose, and increased it over the next 6 weeks.  Maybe it was at the higher dose that my body reacted to something in the drug -- and again, it just took many, many months before my body desensitized to the allergen and stopped hiving.  I dropped the dose back down in January, which was after the hives had already stopped, and am still on the lower dose today.
3. They were from an unknown cause and not from the drugs, for a reason maybe never to be known?  Could be that my medication theories are all wrong, and they were just a random occurrence. I have read others' blogs on this topic, and the good news is that most everyone seems to go into remission and stops blogging about it.

If you are currently experiencing active chronic hives, you are not alone in your angst and frustration. But just know that remission will happen at some point, that this will be transient ("this too shall pass"), and that life is constantly changing

My best advice is look at ANYTHING that may have changed in the month or two leading up to your hives.  Soap? Meds? Detergents? Fabric Softener? Lotions? Vitamins? I initially was looking on what I ate or used THAT DAY that the hives appeared, not taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture.

As for me, it is nice to now go sometimes even days without scanning my body for those dreaded wheals. I can't help but wonder if it will stay like this though.